MAY 10, 2000 WEDNESDAY 4:30 PM

It was raining and cold with a good enough wind to chill your bones. The track was sloppy and was matched by some of the play. Melville opened with possession and a following feed from Kurt to Drew that was stopped with a deflection to Matsui, saved at point blank range. A Northport crosscheck puts the Pats man-up with Casino driving across and hitting the post and Miaritis stopped with a good save. Matty Mo then sorted coverage and Thompson for goal number one. After a few more shots and saves, including a dropped ball in the field that Melville didn't capitalize on, 'Port scored off a deflection. Melville answered with unassisted goals from Matsui and Miaritis and it seemed like they were starting to roll. But what followed was some unsettled play with odd shots from each squad until Northport found an open man to cut the margin to 3-2. Melville pushed the attack again, setting up a few shots that missed their mark on their way to a man-down situation. Nicky G saved two quality shots in succession until Chris Mele intercepted a pass for a Melville possession. 

A man-up opportunity followed with hot shot from Kurt Gerry handled by the keeper. After a NP clear, the Pats regained possession and got the ball to Monfett, working behind the cage. A few moves later he's  around the corner tucking number 4 away for a 4-2  halftime lead. 

The Patriots opened with another faceoff win by Drew Casino followed by a 33 to 9 quick stick connection that is blocked. The  rest of the attack follows with quality shots  that do not find their mark as the Tigers again make the best of an opportunity, finding a shooter  in position who finishes well, cutting the lead to 4-3. WM gets wins another faceoff and again does not hit paydirt on numerous shots. Some possession changes ensue, with a missed call on an over and back. An errant clear finds its way to the back of the Melville net after three connections for a 4-4 tie at the end of three periods. 

The Pats opened the fourth quickly with Drew on the faceoff to Matty to Nick and a hot shot for goal 5 and  the road home. A 23 to 33 connection is stopped and Port came back to town. Ryan K wins it back and clears to Passavia who flips to Applegate at midfield, two passes to Mo, stopped on a quality shot. The ball changes sides and comes back over when Matty finds a shooting spot as he attacks the goal, bouncing it where no goalie could stop it for a 6-4 lead.

Melville kept the ball in the following unsettled situations until the Tigers  gained possession and lost it for a Melville clear finding Chris Passavia streaking upfield. Passavia threaded some openings  until he found a spot near the goal to fire the rock between the legs and off the shoes of the net minder for a 7-4 Melville advantage (Setting a new Melville goal scoring record for defensemen). Matt Monfett completed the scoring with another unassisted gem, solving the defense and keeper one more time for the 8-4 win.

This was not the Patriot's best game of the year but it was enough to pull it out. Northport played hard and smart but was stopped by a hot Nick Gentilesco when they got past the Pats tough defensive unit. We applaud the Northport Tigers, the players, fans, and coaches for their perseverance in the face of all the physical and emotional trauma they have faced. They comprise a terrific program and are an integral part of the lacrosse community on Long Island. Good Luck to Coach Searing and the Tigers. 

For Melville, today's game puts number 599 in the books with number 600 a possibility on Friday against  Commack. We hope that a win Friday can free the Patriots of their responsibility to the milestone achievement and get them back to their outstanding form of crisp passing, fireball shooting, and intense, relentless defense.

Work Hard. Go Patriots!